Shipping crate or coop.



-W. H. JOHNSTON.

SHIPPING GRATELOR COOP. I

. APPLIOATIQN FILED JUNE 10, 1908. Patented Dec 15 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNE88E8: NVE/VTOR w. H. JOHNSTON. SHIPPING CRATE 0B. COOP. APIPPIOATION IIILED JUNE 10, 1908.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908 )1 WW m1 I} v WITNESSES: INVENTOR M as 'set up condition;

' WILLIAM H. JOHNSTON, or MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

' SHIPPING CRATE OR COOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 10, 1908.

Patented nee. 1 5, 1908. Serial No. 437,677.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM l-LJ OHNSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montgomery, in the county of Montgomery and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping Crates or Coops, 0f which the following is a specification.

The primary object of this invention is the production of a colla sible or folding crate or the like, which shall e simple and durable in construction, and one that will not accidentally collapse or fold under the Weight of any other coops or crates or other articles placed upon it, as for example as when placed in an express car with other coops and boxes stacked upon it.

It is also the'object of this invention to produce a coop or crate or the like which in addition to standing great superposed weight, will also stand without accidentally collapsing, the violent shaking and .jarring that such devices are subjected to especially on railroad trains.

With the above objects in view my said invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts herein shown and described'and more particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims. v

In order to more fully describe may said invention reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1, re resents a perspective view of a form of pou try shipping coop embodying my invention, the coo being shown in the ig. 2, a perspective view of said coop showing it knocked down or folded, and Fig. 3, an end elevation of said coop, with portions broken away.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 represents the floor of the coop and 2 longitudinal side bars to which the said floor may be secured in any suitable way, the said side after more fully appear.

bars extending some distance above the top of the floor for purposes which will herein- In the accompanying drawings I have shown the floor as consisting of a plurality of planks or boards extending at their ends into longitudinal grooves 3 in the side bars 2. This, however, is merely one of the many ways the floor may be constructed and supported.

Hinged to the top of each of the pieces 2 is a side consisting, in the case shown, of wire -gether by eyes 9 and 1,0 as shown.

netting 5 and an elongated frame 6 upon which the netting is carried.

' In the form of my invention shown, the side frames 6 are hinged to the side bars 3 by means of rods 7 and 8 which arelinked to- The rods 7 extend through both sides of the frames 6 and are securely held in place by nuts 11. These rods? therefore perform the two fold function of hinge members and tie rods, giv

ing strength to the side frames. The rods 8 pass transversely through the side bars 2 and are held in position by nuts 12. V

The ends of the. coop consist each, in the case shown, of wire netting 13carried by a rectangular frame 14. Eachof these ends is provided with four newel pins 15, 1'6, 17 and 18, the latter being adapted to extend into holes 19 and 20 in each end of the coop bottom when the coop is setup. The upper pins 15 and 16 extend into openings 21 and 22 in each end of the frame 23 of the top of the coop.

The top of the coop comprises the frame 23 of substantially the same breadth as the ends, Wire netting 24 stretched on said frame, and a suitable door 25, which in the case shown,

ada ted to slide in grooved cross pieces 26. Any esired form of door or opening may,

is provided with a head 30 for engaging the outside of the u perportion of the s1de frames 6, andthe en op osite is screw threaded. The screw threaded ends receive thumb nuts 31, by means of which the sides may be tightly drawn up against the edges of the top and ends. For the purpose of sealing the coop, the screw threaded end of each rod 27 may be provided with a small hole through which ma be passed a Wire 32 provided with a lead sea 33. The coop door may be sealed by passing wire 34 through staples 35 and securing said wire by means of a ead seal 36. Any other suitable means, however, may be em loyed for sealing the coop.

suming that the coop is assembled as shown in Fig. 1, it may be taken apart and arranged for shipment or storage in the knocked down condition as follows :The thumb nuts 31 areunscrewed and removed from the rods 27 and the latter Withdrawn. The top is then lifted off and the ends are removed by lifting them out of position. The top is'then laid fiat down on the bottom of the coop and the ends placed fiat down on the top, or if desired, the ends may be put down first and the top placed above them. The hinged sides 4 are then folded down as shown in Fig. 2 and the rods 27 passed through openings 38 in the side frames of. the hinged sides, and the thumb nuts 31 screwed up tight against the edges of the bin ed side frames as shown in Fig. 2, thus secure y holding the said parts in the knocked down condition.

Such a coop is not only capable of being ,most readily knocked down and assembled, but it is particularly strong and durable and at the same time of extremely simple construction.

I have herein shown and described one specific embodiment of my invention which in all its details'is a good form, but I do not wish to limit my invention to this specific emb odiment since many modifications therein may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

WVhat I claim is 1. A crate or coop, comprising a bottom, knocked down ends, to and sides, and tie rods passing transversely across and attached to the sides and the top of the coop when the parts are in an assembled condition, and assing transversely across said sides in a plane substantially parallel to their upper faces and attached to the movable portions of said sides alone when said parts are in the knocked down condition, and clamping means on said rods.

2. A crate or coop, comprising a bottom, removable ends, a removable top, hinged sides, and tie rods passing through the sides and to transversely of the coop or crate when tlie parts are in the assembled condition and passin through the hinged portions of both sides on y transversely of the coop or crate when the parts are in the knocked down condition, and clamping means on Said rods.

3. A crate or coop, comprising a bottom, a removable top, removable ends provided with newel pins adapted to engage openings in said bottom and top, hinged sides, and tie rods adapted to extend transversely across said coop through holes in the top and sides from one side of the coop to the other when said coop is assembled, and adapted to pass transversely of said coop through holes in the hinged portions of said sides alone and in a plane substantially parallel to the upper faces of said sides .when the coo. is in the knocked down condition, and bolts cooperating with said rods to hold said parts'together.

4. A coo or crate, comprising a bottom, knocked own ends, top and sides, longitudinal side ieces secured to the bottom and extending above the upper surface thereof, eye bolts extending transversely through said side pieces, eye bolts passing transversely through said sides from one longitudinal edge to the other of each side, the eyes on the first mentioned bolts being linked respectively to the eyes on the second mentioned bolts, and nuts on said bolts.

5. A crate or coop, comprising a bottom, knock down ends and top and hinged sides, and tie rods passing through the sides and to transversely of the coop or crate when the parts are in the assembled condition, and each of said rods assing through the hinged portions of bot of said sides transversely across the coop or crate when the parts are in the knocked down condition, and clamping means on said rods, the said hinged portions of the sides adaptedto fold over the top and ends interposed between said hinged portions and the bottom, when the parts are in the knocked down condition.

In testimony whereof I affnc my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. JOHNSTON.

Witnesses: WILLIFORD DUSKIN, H. C..DAVIDSON. 

